If my life were a timeline, I would highlight so many moments of it that those which remain un-highlighted would be the ones to stand out. Like a slideshow in my head, I recall snapshots and snippets of dialogue. These are the many moments that I cherish because they are the happy times, or the ones I hold onto because, as despondent as I might have been then, they have helped me grow and mature. These mental records also include my memories of people who have made an impact on me with their love, their care, their example, and the laughs and special moments we share. These moments merge into aspects of my life that, in hindsight, have been extremely important and influential. The most significant and influential aspects of my life have been my relationships with the people around me, with God, and all the “firsts” I have experienced.
Friends and family have always been very important to me. I do not think I speak alone when I say that people, family and friends, make some of the largest impacts on a person’s life. My parents are the people who have cared for me and raised me. They’re the two people on this planet who loved me from the day I took my first breath. God chose them to be my first protectors, my first sense of security, and to be in charge of showing me the world and helping me grow in the right ways. Naturally, their impact on my life is undeniable. As I got older and my little universe expanded, I learned to form relationships of my own. Making friends in pre-school is certainly very different from making friends in high school. As a young girl, I saw anyone who would play with me as a friend. Best friends were the playmates who played with me the most, shared their stuff with me, and invited me over a lot. By middle school, I had learned to seek qualities in both myself and my friends of choice. Who could I trust to understand me and try to find the best in me? Who would defend me if other girls gossiped about me? It was in middle school that I found my core trustworthy groups of friends, both at school and church, and the best friend I had always wanted in elementary school. She and I just connect and understand each other so well, like, soul mates! Finally, high school came along and tested all these friendships. Friendship and boy dramas that will someday look immature and trivial to us in the future, or maybe even now, prove who will stay loyal and how far my friends will reach out their necks to help me out, and how far I will go for them. My best friends have helped me become a better version of myself, and deepening my relationships with different people has given me insight and thoughtfulness to try seeing and feeling from someone else’s perspective.
However, the most significant relationship I have ever experienced is the one I have with the God of the Universe. To think that I can even call a high and holy supernatural Being my God is amazing, and to think that He loves me is more amazing, and to think that His love is everlasting – meaning that it can never be more or be less – is simply mind-blowing. I forget this and stack other priorities on top of my relationship with Him a lot, but God is the reason I was ever here with an opportunity to live life, and the reason my relationship with Him is the most significant aspect of my life is because I need to live it for Him.
I am not sure if this is an aspect of life, but I would like to count all the “firsts” I have experienced in my life as some of the most important moments. A first is always a special thing because it is the beginning of many more, or a few more, or it may never happen again. Some of the most influential people in my life saw me take my first steps and speak my first words. I remember when death became real to me, for the first time, when my great-grandfather passed away and I could not fathom the idea that someone I remembered so well suddenly was not here anymore. I remember my first piano recital and how I cried because I froze before I could even start playing my piece. I cried at all my first recitals, actually. I had something close to a nervous breakdown at my first singing recital, my first speech, my first ballet recital…It’s a good thing I had many more recitals to master the art of stage presence. I remember when I asked God to come live in my heart, for the very first time at the age of five, and how I thought I had to do that many more times for each time I sinned. I remember my first day of school at CCS, the moment I walked onto campus timidly, dragging my rolling backpack behind me and looking around for a few familiar faces. I remember my first conversation, which took place a few days later, with the girl who has become one of the best friends I have ever had.
So many relationships and experiences stemming from those relationships have helped me become who I am today. Every first has led to more, and every first has proven to make my life richer, or at least more exciting. Every moment of my life I was making choices, and in moments following I learned from them. This is how I grow and make my timeline look like it is actually headed somewhere.
Friends and family have always been very important to me. I do not think I speak alone when I say that people, family and friends, make some of the largest impacts on a person’s life. My parents are the people who have cared for me and raised me. They’re the two people on this planet who loved me from the day I took my first breath. God chose them to be my first protectors, my first sense of security, and to be in charge of showing me the world and helping me grow in the right ways. Naturally, their impact on my life is undeniable. As I got older and my little universe expanded, I learned to form relationships of my own. Making friends in pre-school is certainly very different from making friends in high school. As a young girl, I saw anyone who would play with me as a friend. Best friends were the playmates who played with me the most, shared their stuff with me, and invited me over a lot. By middle school, I had learned to seek qualities in both myself and my friends of choice. Who could I trust to understand me and try to find the best in me? Who would defend me if other girls gossiped about me? It was in middle school that I found my core trustworthy groups of friends, both at school and church, and the best friend I had always wanted in elementary school. She and I just connect and understand each other so well, like, soul mates! Finally, high school came along and tested all these friendships. Friendship and boy dramas that will someday look immature and trivial to us in the future, or maybe even now, prove who will stay loyal and how far my friends will reach out their necks to help me out, and how far I will go for them. My best friends have helped me become a better version of myself, and deepening my relationships with different people has given me insight and thoughtfulness to try seeing and feeling from someone else’s perspective.
However, the most significant relationship I have ever experienced is the one I have with the God of the Universe. To think that I can even call a high and holy supernatural Being my God is amazing, and to think that He loves me is more amazing, and to think that His love is everlasting – meaning that it can never be more or be less – is simply mind-blowing. I forget this and stack other priorities on top of my relationship with Him a lot, but God is the reason I was ever here with an opportunity to live life, and the reason my relationship with Him is the most significant aspect of my life is because I need to live it for Him.
I am not sure if this is an aspect of life, but I would like to count all the “firsts” I have experienced in my life as some of the most important moments. A first is always a special thing because it is the beginning of many more, or a few more, or it may never happen again. Some of the most influential people in my life saw me take my first steps and speak my first words. I remember when death became real to me, for the first time, when my great-grandfather passed away and I could not fathom the idea that someone I remembered so well suddenly was not here anymore. I remember my first piano recital and how I cried because I froze before I could even start playing my piece. I cried at all my first recitals, actually. I had something close to a nervous breakdown at my first singing recital, my first speech, my first ballet recital…It’s a good thing I had many more recitals to master the art of stage presence. I remember when I asked God to come live in my heart, for the very first time at the age of five, and how I thought I had to do that many more times for each time I sinned. I remember my first day of school at CCS, the moment I walked onto campus timidly, dragging my rolling backpack behind me and looking around for a few familiar faces. I remember my first conversation, which took place a few days later, with the girl who has become one of the best friends I have ever had.
So many relationships and experiences stemming from those relationships have helped me become who I am today. Every first has led to more, and every first has proven to make my life richer, or at least more exciting. Every moment of my life I was making choices, and in moments following I learned from them. This is how I grow and make my timeline look like it is actually headed somewhere.
LeAnn1996
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